Love Shots
by smileyfacebabe
Summary: On Riku, Roxas, their lives, and their shared hobby of film photography. What happens in the darkroom, stays in the darkroom. RikuRoku, drabble series.
1. of wrong lightswitches and next times

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN KINGDOM HEARTS. LE RAWR, BITCHES.  
notes: Well, see, I'm addicted. To, um, RIKUROKU. And I simply adore photography, mostly the film kind because digital cameras are evil, evil little whores. AND THE IDEA OF ROXAS AND RIKU BEING FILM PHOTOGRAPH TEENS IS A-FUCKING-MAZING. (And mostly inspired by other things, an AkuRoku and a SoRiku fic, both separate affairs.) But, um, yeah, mostly going to be drabbles surrounding Roxas, Riku, and film photography. Because it is hot.

"Riku," Roxas snarled, eying the nearly silent darkness around him. The only sound he could hear was the soft bubbling of the photo baths to his back-right, but he was so used to that sound that he barely noticed it by now. "Turn on that goddamn light and stop being an asshole." Although silently the blond debated if the last one was physically _possible_.

There was an answering chuckle, an echo that wrapped around Roxas and made his mind swim. His heart skipped a beat at the eerie sound but he ignored it, turning his body slowly in a circle and listening intently for other sounds. In addition to listening he clenched his hands to keep them from shaking, something that happened when faced with a surprise he didn't like, and growled. His eyes were an ice blue that went unseen, even to the silver haired male, but that didn't stop him from narrowing them into tight slits.

"RIKU!"

"Keep your pants on, Blondie," Riku's voice mocked. It sounded like it came more from his right than his left and he leaned that way, trying to figure out what part of the room Riku was near. The answer came to him within seconds, the light switch, and Roxas wondered if it would really be that easy. When the bright, sterile white light flickered on, however, Roxas remembered that he was hardly ever that lucky when it came to Riku.

Riku was lounged against the wall, index finger still on the light switch, the _white_ light switch. His lips were curled in a smirk, teasing and cruel and ten different flavors of stuck-up prick, or so Roxas could imagine. The blond blinked rapidly against the sudden onslaught of light, not having seen anything but a faint red glow for the past three hours.

"What the _fuck_, Riku? I could have had paper out, you bitch." Roxas grumbled, rubbing anxiously at his eyes with his wrists, his hands currently covered in chemicals. He groaned loudly a second later, the sound nearly a whine, and slummed against one of the cube walls that were just taller than his head.

"But you didn't, Rox-as." Riku's voice was tinted three different shades of childish and glossed with a shiny coat of smugness to boot. With every syllable that he spoke he flicked the light on and then off. Roxas whined again in the back of his throat, too tired to deal with the silver head's games. He couldn't quite decide, however, if he wanted to curse or thank his luck that the light ended up staying on.

"When I said 'turn on the fucking light' I meant the red one, ass."

"Too bad, so sad; time for you to rejoin the living, sunlight seeing world, Rox."

Riku mentally snickered at the blonde's pout, though he would never stand for his expression to be called something so childish and girly. His eyes, so large and so very blue, were shiny and pretty in the overhead light and his bangs were drooped into his face framing the expression. He looked almost innocent and, if Riku was feeling particularly girly, like an angel dropped down from heaven. Almost, but Riku was highly aware of all the things Roxas was capable of.

"C'mon Roxas, Axel's up stairs, here to take you home. Or at least that's what he swears. Personally, I think he's just trying to corner you so he can molest you a bunch." Riku's tone was purposefully bland, trying desperately to pull of the aloof and bored expression that usually came so easily to him. But his eyes narrowed just the tiniest bit on the word 'molest' and Roxas chuckled.

"Probably," Roxas drawled, sadistically enjoying it when Riku grimaced angrily. "I'll have to come back early tomorrow, then, because I'll most likely have three more rolls snapped by this weekend. These last two need to be developed and looked at before that, so…" Roxas' voice trailed off and he grinned at the taller male, eyes wicked.

Riku's smirk lost its cruel edge, its defensive edge Roxas knew, and was suddenly so much more playful. His teal eyes glinted in a way that made stupid, girly things flutter in Roxas' chest and stomach. Lowly, mostly to himself, he muttered, "I think I've got a few rolls to work on that can wait until tomorrow morning..."

Roxas smiled, a sincere small smile, at Riku's self-mutterings. Leaning over, and for once not cursing his height, Roxas flicked Riku's nose with his index fingers, chuckling when the older boy jumped. Now that Riku's full attention was on Roxas he moved past the boy and up the stairs, pausing twice to speak. Once was at the very bottom of the stairs and once was at the top.

At the bottom Roxas stayed half-turned to Riku, smirk curling his lips in a way Riku knew only too well. "Several long hours in a dark, small room alone with you?" He chuckled, voice rough and laughter as dark as the room had once been. He turned and hopped up the rest of the steps, flicking a look at Riku over his shoulder once he reached the top. He took in very briefly the basement-turned-darkroom, the bubbling baths in the corner that held at least twenty of his pictures from today's work, and Riku's expression.

"Oh, I think I can deal with that," He murmured, just before the door clicked shut behind him; leaving Riku to stand alone in his basement, wishing tomorrow was there already.


	2. of sleeping blonds and closets

Disclaimer: Me. No. Own.  
A/N: ...I don't know what possessed me to write this. All I know was that I was like 'CAITLIN TIRED' so I collapsed on the couch. And the second I get _comfortable_ the idea pops in my head and every ounce of sleepiness flees from my head because it would not _leave me the fuck alone_. (And then I cursed wildly, but who cares about that bit, right? Also, Kadaj is my favorite character, like, ever. So he will be popping up, probably randomly. Don't question it, just laugh at the lame coming-out references, okay? XD)

* * *

Riku glanced over, just out of sight of the red glow, at the lump in the corner of the large basement where Roxas was curled up on the couch. Rolling his teal eyes he picked up an empty canister for film developing and ran his fingers over the lip, listening out for the sound he knew would come soon. Within seconds the film dryer click off, leaving the room nearly silent, save for the ever-present bubbling sound of the water baths.

Riku reached back his arm and snapped it forward, launching the canister in Roxas' direction, praying he had the room as memorized as well as he usually gloated. Half a second later there was a dull thud and a yelp, followed instantly by another, larger sounding thump of Roxas presumably falling off the couch.

"WHAT THE FUCK, RIKU?"

"I'm starting to get the impression that's all you ever say, Rox."

"Shit, dude, I was trying to sleep here!" Roxas grumbled, voice tight with anger and rough with sleep. Turning back towards the machine in the second cube where he was standing Riku smirked.

"I just thought you might like to know that your film is done drying," He drawled, amusement dripping from his lips. "And by the way, why did you come over here if you were so tired? You only have one roll to develop, you could have waited until later; why come over here and sleep?"

Roxas made a clicking sound in the back of his throat and there were shuffling noises as he stood. Seconds later he was by Riku's side, standing on tip toe, grinning into his face. Roxas lowered his eyelashes, blinking coyly at the taller male who was cornered against the cube's wall.

"Why Riku, I'm starting to get the feeling I'm not _wanted_ here…"

Riku gulped and cursed quietly in his head, damning the shorter boy to hell and back for having perfected that utterly _alluring as fuck_ look. The darkness tainting his face did nothing to halt such a look either, instead just transferring his usually innocent look into something more sinister and fucking _hot._

When Riku didn't snap back an answer Roxas smirked and moved away, noting in the corner of his eye how the other boy slumped back and sucked in a nervous breath. He clicked open the dryer and let his metal roll of film fall into the palm of his hand, fingers barely brushing the film to make sure it was completely dry. Upon finding that his film was indeed done he stepped over to the basement closet and glanced back over his shoulder, smiling at Riku's stubbornly turned back.

"I'm going to step into the closet to check these out, wanna join?"

Riku froze, frowning at Roxas over his shoulder. He hated how utterly curious he was sometimes because now that Roxas had _mentioned it_ he really wanted to know what pictures where on that roll. His voice leaked annoyance when he begrudgingly spoke to the blond.

"What roll is that?"

"Picnic," Roxas chirped, eyes alight with wicked glee. Riku frowned at the boy, not quite understanding his joy.

"But I didn't see you with a camera at the picnic, I thought Namine decreed the day machine free…"

"Candid shots are always the best, Ri-ku, so I kept to the simple as hell camera and snuck it in my shoulder bag."

Riku didn't bother trying to stop his sigh, instead just moving to follow the blonde into the closet and pulling the curtain closed before shutting the door tight. "Fucking hell, we need a bigger space to view these rolls, Rox. Your midget self can fit in here fine, sure, but some of us are taller than three feet."

"Shut the fuck up and look at the damn shots, asshole."

Sometimes Riku wondered why he liked the small blond. He was bossy, bitchy, fucking annoying, dangerous, devious, and threw hissy fits like a PMSing girl, for Christ's sake. But seconds after the thought slipped through his mind Roxas looked up and Riku remembered just why he liked him, just like always. He'd look up and glance at Riku with his stupid big blue eyes and Riku would remember why he was hooked, why he had taken up photography and begged his parents to let him turn the basement into a darkroom and he bloody remembered why he hated Axel's guts every other day.

Because every time Roxas glanced up it was like Christmas morning when your five and Santa brought you that dart gun you had been begging for. It was like looking up at the sky on a perfectly blue day when you're at the park with your friends. It was like dancing to your favorite song or waking up in that blessed comfortable position in the morning and realized you_ didn't _have to get up_. _

_It was like falling in love all over again._

So Riku pressed close to Roxas' back, head resting on the boy's shoulder, and looked at all the pictures he had taken. He watched as his friend's faces were shown to him in tiny little brown rectangles, smiling and laughing and wrestling with each other. He looked on as a picture of Axel passed, his arm thrown over Demyx's shoulder as they sung some song or another that Riku couldn't remember the lyrics to. He watch as Larxene slipped by, flicking off Marluxia with a sickly sweet smirk on her lips. And he watched still as Sora and Kairi and Namine and Kadaj and Cloud as passed by, their happiness captured by Roxas' sneaky nature and keen eye for angles.

"Am I in here," He murmured, almost scared to watch any more. He listened to the blond breathe softly, comfortably, and hoped to God that he hadn't been left out by his crush.

His heart skipped a beat when Roxas laughed, a coy soft affair, and then cursed the fact that Roxas could probably feel that through his back.

"Not in this roll, no, but in the other one I have back home you are. Actually…" Roxas voice trailed off for a second and if Riku believed such things were possible he could have sworn Roxas was _embarrassed. _"Most of those at home are of you. You're only in the second roll because you were always moving too much to get a clear shot of you earlier in the day."

Riku smiled, leaning into Roxas some more on the pretense of looking more closely at a shot. Something, however, didn't add up. "Why didn't you bring that roll then?"

"Because 'm not done with it yet, there's still a couple of pictures to take on it."

Something in Roxas' voice made Riku chuckle, something that screamed the boy was lying through his teeth. The taller male wrapped an arm around Roxas' waist, tilting his head up to whisper in his ear.

"Are you sure you didn't just want a reason to come by tomorrow as well," He muttered, soft and dark and teasing. He smirked when he felt Roxas' shudder but a voice behind him made both of them fly apart, blushing.

"Do I even want to ask what you two are doing in this closet?" Kadaj drawled, leaning on the doorframe of the open closet door. Behind him the light was on and the curtain pulled back, making Riku momentarily forget his embarrassment and freak.

But before he could flip a shit Kadaj continued, expression shifting from bored to sick amusement in seconds flat.

"But then again with what I just saw there are several reasons you guys are, y'know, _in the closet_." When he was met with nothing but bright red faces he grinned sharply, evilly, and spoke again before either of the boys could gather their wits. "Mom wanted me to ask what you guys wanted for lunch but… I guess I'll just tell her you two are too… _Busy_ to eat right now."

Riku's eyes flew wide and he blushed even harder. He glanced over at Roxas' noticing sharply how embarrassed the boy was before the blond tackled Kadaj to the ground and started to choke out a threat or five. Most of the threats, he noticed in the back of his mind, were the more exotic ones, concerning various parts of the male anatomy that most males were very, very fond of and would rather not lose and he had no doubt, in that corner of his mind, that Roxas meant every word he scrambled out.

Stupidly Riku smiled, leaning back against the closet wall and fixing that shy, flustered image of Roxas into his mind, not even bothering to help his brother. Too bad he hadn't caught that look on camera, he thought dully, mildly disappointed, but then again maybe there were ways to make Roxas blush again.

They'd have more time together in the darkroom after all, and if he recalled right it was even mostly soundproof… Oh yes, he had _multiple_ ideas how to get the blond to blush again and once the boy finished strangling the hell out of his older, stupider, brother they'd have all the time in the world, too.


	3. of honesty and singing to the dark

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts nor the song lyrics here. ("Sly" by the Cat Empire.)  
A/N: Mhmm, Cat Empire is prolly my new favorite band. And for some reason they just scream "RIKU" to me. BUT ANYWAY. If you're curious the song I was thinking of (also by Cat Empire) for the beginning was "Days Like These". (lol, right?)

* * *

"Why do you always play the weirdest shit when we're donwn here," Roxas wondered aloud, having to press up against Riku and speak directly in his ear to be heard over the loud, insistent throbbing of the trumpet blaring out of the basement speakers.

In response Riku flicked his hair out of his face with a wrist and grinned at Roxas over his shoulder, laughing. "Shesh, Roxas, a little close aren't you?" When Roxas pouted at him in the dim red light he laughed more, shaking his head to get his stubborn bangs back out of his eyes. "This is _good_ music, Roxie. It may not be the loud, screaming stuff you and Axel kill your ears with 24/7 but you have to admit, it has _charm_."

Roxas' disbelief was still plain as day on his face, an expression that made Riku lean closer and actually consider kissing him, right then and there. But he leaned back a moment later, instead using the movement to bump Roxas with his shoulder and shake off his desires with another laugh. The blond rolled his eyes, grumbled something that the older male couldn't hear that probably went along the lines of 'idiots with bad taste in music' or something and moved away.

The next song was Riku's favorite, a tune that forever made him quirk a grin that always seemed to border on the edge of a leer, if Roxas was around at least. The second Roxas heard the intro for that particular song he huffed out a sigh that was mostly fond, though he'd never admit that out loud, and awaited the voice that was sure to join the lead singer's within seconds.

To be honest, Roxas cherished these silly moments between them, in the darkened room that they arranged themselves. When Riku was singing along to one of his mix CDs or cracking joke after joke, something he usually kept to himself. During these times Roxas would glance out of the corner of his eye, watching the taller boy dance and sing with such a relaxed ease. He was never like this with others, Roxas knew, and he felt a surge of sadistic glee fill his chest at the thought. He was one of the very, very few to see Riku so happy and _silly_ and, if he was really going to be honest at least with himself, he wouldn't share these times with anyone else.

And just as Roxas predicted Riku tossed his head back and belted out the chorus, tipping his head back to look at the blonde. Roxas could just see his lips, curled around the words with the hint of a smirk, tinted a dark, shadowed red due to the lights, but his eyes are what really grabbed his attention. They glinted and glimmered in the faint lighting, so focused on him that Roxas felt his breathing hitch and his cheeks flush. Roxas felt his voice swell in his throat, something of an involuntary reaction to Riku's singing, and he almost joined in on the chorus, the entirety of the song already memorized anyway. But he bit back his voice, still unable to move his eyes from his friend (and crush, but Roxas wasn't ready to be _that_ honest with himself yet).

"AYE, IT'S A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU, YOU LOOK LIKE YOU'RE ONE _INCREDIBLE_ CREATURE. WANNA TREAT YOU FINE, LET'S DANCE AND GRIND, GET SO FUNK-INFLICTED IT'S A CRIME. YOU'RE DIVINE, YOU'RE SUBLIME; WELL YOU BLOW MY _MIND! YOU'RE SO SLY!_"

Yes, if Roxas was going to be completely honest with himself he cherished these moments even more than the ones with Axel and the screaming nonsense metal that Riku despised. He didn't mind the songs Riku sang or danced to, as long as he kept sharing these moments in the dark room with him, kept smiling like he was now.

But, Roxas thought turning back to his printing machine and his negatives; he wasn't quite ready to be that honest yet. Not even with himself. So he ignored the look in Riku's eyes, the coy, hopeful way his lips curled around those lyrics, and focused completely on his pictures. There would be other times, down here in their darkroom, because it wasn't Riku's alone, not anymore, and maybe by then he'd be ready to admit everything. The blond felt Riku's gaze linger on the back of his head, still heard his voice trailing just over the lead singer's, and wished with every fiber of his being that he could just be honest with himself, just this once.


	4. of pairings and woeing brothers

**A/N:** so… this is totally not to offend anyone who doesn't like Batman/Robin or Batman/Joker. I like neither and am in the mind that Robin is like a son to Batman and Batman like a father to Robin (and that the Joker is fucked up and cool and totally not Bruce's star-crossed lover or whatever). You're allowed your opinion, I promise. Also, I apologize to anyone who doesn't like my Kadaj. _I_ like my Kadaj, because he's funny and weird and an asshat (and if I can make Roxas and Riku old-school filmers than Kadaj can make bad Batman shipping references and act like he's smoking some really good gay shit).  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Batman or Kingdom Hearts. (Or the book referenced here, which if anyone UNDERSTANDS the reference that'd make me feel much, much better about my nerdiness.)  
**Note1:** I procrastinate like the world's never ending, okay. So, I apologize, but these might not be speedy updates. This is mostly because I just want to have FUN, but whatever. Sorry anyway.

* * *

"You know, it's kind of pathetic to see you down here without Roxas."

Some days Riku really, _really_ hated his brother.

"I mean, you droop around, all sniffled and 'WOE IS ME', playin' your emo shit music down here like a heartbroken teenage girl. It's making me ill just watching you."

From Riku's point of view, Kadaj deserved all sorts of hideous deaths, in which the hideousness of them would only ever be out done by his _face. _Unfortunately he was using the 'my idiotic older brother does not exist' tactic and therefore could not kill his brother in the many, gruesome ways that flitted through his head.

"Seriously, man, what the fuck did you DO? Your whimpering, lost little puppy dog routine is only going to amuse mom for so long before she starts missing Roxie and his witty, sarcastic charm, because you know he and I are the only ones here that can use sarcasm CORRECTLY and all. And besides-"

"Go away Kadaj."

Kadaj cheered silently from where he was lounging on the darkroom's couch. He'd been down there for just over thirty minutes trying to find the right buttons to press to get Riku to _talk_ and the kid had actually cracked a lot sooner than he originally thought. 'Must be pretty fucking torn up then,' Kadaj thought, following his little brother with his eyes as Riku moved around in the darkened, red-tinted room.

"Oh, but I'm worried about my little brother! Listening to such music, so dark and with foul language! And without his hero he's just a lost, pathetic little side-kick out on the streets! I'm here because I care, Riku, I swear it to you~"

"Get. Out."

This time Kadaj snorted, making a big show of swinging his legs over the couch's arm lazily. "Spill your broken heart's contents to me, brother dearest, I promise I will listen and not judge."

"I don't know what kind of gay shit you've been smoking but you really, really need to stop."

"Oh, but this foul music is warping my young brother' mind; listen to the hateful words coming from his mouth-"

Riku finally spun to face Kadaj, murder in his eyes as he cut through his brother's taunting (and probably well prepared) speech. "Okay, first off this is YOUR fucking music, out of YOUR fucking CD collection! Secondly, I AM NOT A HEARTBROKEN TEENAGE GIRL. Thirdly, why the hell is it automatically _my fault _Roxas isn't here?_ AND I AM NOT A SIDE-KICK, YOU FUCKING SONOVABITCH ASSHAT."_

"Pffft, I knew you'd crack sometime. Good thing you cracked when you did too, I was running out of annoying, gay bullshitty things to say," Kadaj drawled, raising his eyebrows at his brother in a calming sort of way. "And, in the order you addressed them; I was fucking wondering where my CDs had gone you bitch, I didn't say you were just that you were ACING like one, it's automatically your fault because _I_ didn't do it, and you are TOTALLY the side-kick in this relationship. Oh, and we share the same mom, dipshit, but if you think she's a bitch I could go tell her that for you…"

Riku ignored the last statement, instead focusing on the comment that would keep Kadaj farthest away from the problem at hand. Jerkily he raised a hand to his temple, massaging it harshly in the hopes his headache would fade. "How the fuck do you figure I'm the side-kick?"

"Because Blondie wears more black than you, which makes him Batman, and if he's BATMAN then you're ROBIN," Kadaj chimed victoriously, before pausing. "Expect, y'know, I don't think Robin wanted to fuck Batman like you want to fuck Roxas. But then again, that's up to your pairing preferences…"

Riku stared at Kadaj for one long, tense moment as he completely absorbed what his brother said. Finally he blinked twice, slowly, and pressed his fingers harder against his temple. "Shoot me, please. Just shoot me NOW."

"What, did I just ruin every waking moment of your childhood, not to mention disrupt your Batman obsession to the point of world destruction? Hmhm… Maybe you're more of a Batman/Joker fan-"

"Kadaj, if you have any mercy left in your soul after the hellish childhood you put me through you will SHUT THE FUCK UP NOW. EW, MAN. JUST, JUST EW. LEAVE BATMAN ALONE."

Kadaj chuckled, shaking his slowly while Riku continued to flail in place. "Hey, man, it's your fault. I never thought of gay pairings before YOU decided boobs weren't good enough for you. I'm just being sexually aware out of pure and utter love for my baby brother-"

"Stop pulling a goddamn Holden Caulfield, Kadaj, or get out," Riku said wearily, tired of his brother's mind games. "I just want to develop this film in peace."

Kadaj's expression was instantly one of complete sincerity and he was sitting up properly in less time than Riku would have guessed. His eyes, more of a blue than Riku's own sea foam teal, stared relentlessly into his younger brother, serious and sad and blank all at once.

"What happened with Roxas, Riku?"

Riku blinked, startled by the appearance of what he liked to call "Podperson-Kadaj". Slowly he shook his head, stubborn on his point to not tell Kadaj anything.

"Riku, what happened with _Roxas_?"

"Nothing happened, Kadaj, he's just not here-"

"Why?" Kadaj asked again, but Riku still refused to answer. Taking a different route Kadaj tried again. "Did you two fight?"

"No."

"Is he sick?"

"No."

Kadaj watched each of Riku's answers carefully, avidly searching for a lie among them. But all checked out, right up until he asked, "Is he hanging out with Axel?" to which Riku's eyes tightened around the edges and he positively _growled_.

"_No._"

Kadaj paused for a long while, eyes trained on his younger brother as the boy became more and more tightly wound, right up until he had much more in common with a steel bedspring than a human being. Slowly the older boy sighed, standing fluidly until he (just barely) towered over Riku's angry form.

"Well then, if there's absolutely _nothing_ wrong here I'll be leaving," He said, clasping a hand on Riku's shoulder harshly in hopes to jar the boy out of his anger (it worked). "But, if you wanted my opinion on ANYTHING, I think Batman/Robin is MUCH more plausible than Batman/Joker."

With that Kadaj moved past Riku, taking the stairs two at a time until he reached the kitchen door. Wrapping his fingers around the knob he paused, just once more for a split second to glance back at his brother.

In the faint red light of the darkroom Riku smiled, head turned so his hair fell over his eyes leaving only his mouth in view. His shoulders were lax, his fingers curled out of those tight, raging fists they had been in only a minute beforehand; he looked almost as if he were just lazily standing in the middle of the room for no point, with no urgent, pressing problems weighing down his heart. (Kadaj decided quietly that he liked this look a lot better on his little brother, it was absolutely no fun to tease an unresponsive, sulky, _gloomy_ bitch (Riku).)

"Your analogies suck dick, 'Daj."

Kdaj smirked, opening the door and stepping over the doorway just as he chuckled back, "Your face sucks dick, loser."

(Later Roxas would come over and Riku would smile and think of Batsignals and motorcycles while on the other end of the house Kadaj would curse his mother's fondness for hanging around the kitchen, Riku's blasted soundproof room, whichever idiot decided soap was a good way for punishing foul mouthed children, and the utter unfairness of life itself.)


End file.
